Gas range testing plate



AugQl'S, 1950 R. J. DUFOUR 2,519,237

GAS RANGE TESTING PLATE Filed Dec. 2'7, 1946 fatent eci Aug. 15 1950 UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE i 7 2,519,237 f ens RANGE Tescrnie t me;

Raymond J'. Dufour, Wheaten; humiliation Deeeintef 271 1946, serisi no. "7181805 1 ciai m (c1. te se) My invention reietes to a device for testing the extent or efiiciency f: combustion of a fuel deiiv= eredto and consmnedi in ages bnrneri "when the compqsitien of ga emp eyed as a fuel isgvaiied as to its 13"; t.;u. content ittecqn es necessary to make appi opnate adjustment f the gas burning; apparatus in order-to provide proper pi onortions of fuel and oxygen,v so that ehicient combustion will take piece. It is also desirabie to test and: adjust new ofrepiace nent gas burners i'i'i order' that they wiii operate efiicientlywith the ffiel' suiiplied them: A

Homes and" in'ci'usti'ia'l estahiismehtsin a com munity in which a cehtrailsouiceof gasis ethpioyed forsuppiymg various gas burning sp'pih ances normally have? these anpiiances adjusted for fu'ei of a (ieteirnineci' B. t. content. When" the supplier oflgas ciianees' ever to areas having a different B. t. 'u. eontentiit becomes he'cessarv for m'anyofithe gas-consuming appliances Withih the; community to be adjusted for use" the new that. Ohe method employed in determining the-proper adjustmentior efas' consuming appliarises Tequir'ed'the measure hon monoxide which results from 1 bastion of the gas from an; improperly adjusted gas burner. Although suchinanner of" testing may prcve satisfactory in alaboratory, it is mini-v nersonie and impractical in the, new, that'is',, testing appliances; scattered throughout a. coinmnnityi' Flii'thi, such method of testiiigflis usuallyj'beydnd the calfiability of the ordinary service than, it}. as W611 as other known testing methods, is relatively eiiiiensi've as compared the manner of testing which my invention: pro- Vide's'.

It is an object of myinvention to provide a simpie" and sturdy testing device which the ordinary servic mammay' emplby in the field fer determinihg', the extent or efiiciency of combustion. of fii'el' delivered from. a gas burner. Itis an advam tags of testing device that it is-easii'y construeted and-is much less ex ensive than testing devices previously: employed; The device is. panticularly Weil adapted for testing. gas burners employedfop heating vessel's-which are supported over the burners, such,.,fon example, as hot water tanks and utensils employed on a gas cooking stoves For purposes of description, the testing device will be iliiis'trat'edin connection with the top burners of gas cooki-ng-stove; such as that employed in the home. It will be understood,. of coiirs'e, that'this is" merely'hy way of eXampie.

Since the gas burner, or burners; to be tested operates beneath a vessel; the input of the fuel to the gas burner should be such that themax-i mum possible amount-of gas wi-l l'be ccn pietely burned beneath the vessel being used. The testing device in-qiiestion is intended, therefore, to define a combustion area whichsimulatesaetual operating, conditions. and to offeia visuai means for determining when the best adjustment of a 35 ficationofthetesting-plategas; banter exists. in this'ennectien, I'- provides; testing" dev'i'eewhic'h presents to the burning fii'ei' a shape and surface which corresponds to sha e and surface of the tessei which will be subjected tesnch b'iiifiiiig fuel; together with-meansfo 'pei-initting the heated gases, including those which have not been coniiifleteli burned, to pass to a locality where excess air is available for'fiii the combustion, which combustion is se 'iocetied as tobe visibie to the eye of the service Than.-

The burner is" theii a'djlisted so thatthe as-Tatid is reduced to a pcint where with secondary com bastion is eliminated. At-tnatpoint the service provided edjiistmentof the burnrwhich 15 resuits in eomeiete comisiistion er the fuel" bee n atn the-'vessei. Most efiieient fuel consumption; the efr'e; resu'its;

other objects, uses and advantages of my titvention wail become-a parent from the" ioiiowing' descfiptionwhei'i taieehin connect-ion with the drawings iii-which:

Figuiei a perspective view showing the toe bhiher'bf a domestic gas range with my testing device positionedfor testing operations, the dot:

dash tine indicating the location where a name appear shot-e tiieitesti'ng device: and F'ignre is aplan view on e; Tafger scale of a monifiee -ionn attesting piate;

Figure His a plant/few o'fanotiie inodifieci rm of testin piste for use with a ring shaped gas bugqne'rg I Figure 4- is a ""mentsry' View of" a; modifies tion of testing ate of'Fig'ure 3; and

Figure a fragmentary View of enotnef modi- Fi ure 3; A Likeref renee names "s have teeneinnioyed the severaiviews-to indicate thesame elements Therei'ernce numeraf iindicates generally a; demestic' gas range having a piiifaiit'y of toh'eas 40 Burners, S1101)? asth'e gasburiieii indicated reference ziurneiei '3. Thisburner has U I (if-arm s '5, each of which arms-liaise of on fes- 'f'tiii-ougn gas passes Iyupwatmytow "and agrid' 9, which isposi tion'ed above-the burneffor snpjaortmga cookiiije't vessel (not shown), A1 conduit meme from the huifhei '3 to c'ontiioivaive l i for said burner; vaive permitsthe the admission of gas to" the burner 3 fr'ointhe gss rianifoid iz'of'therang l"- Restineonfthe ria eiseiiefbrm tifte'st'ine evice or piateof invention; piateisin dicated generally by the reference numer'ai H2 The iete iscirciflafifdime'd of stel; and japproxi'meteiy' '7 /-iiichs iiidiameter', which di sei' recommended for combustion tests e: America-n Standards Associatien; c'e fai aperture is is approximatel m'cirin die-meter and nrovides a eassageway for hot unburned the? to reacheficess air existing above the :piate P3 tothei eby to-eonipietion; The anettin e ft site Tiermits the estate of eases of combustion The testing plate l3, as so far described, performs very satisfactorily. However, to render moreeasy the task of the personwho is adjusting the gas burner, I provide'a heat resistant wire l6, such as Chromel No. 20 gauge, across the aperture l5. The wire l6 makes more visible the presence of a flame at the aperture, which flame is indicative of the escape of unburned fuel from beneath the plate. If desired, the wiremay be coated with a salt solution, so that any flame above the plate may be rendered more visible by coloration due to the vaporized salt. A detachable handle [1 is preferably employed in cooperation with a bridge 19 on the plate 13 to make easy the placing and removal of the plate from the grid 9.

It will be appreciated that the plate need not be made of steel or, for thatmatter, of any metal, so long as it is heat resistant and sturdy, and the same is true of the wire it which extends across the aperture 13.

v In place of the wire there may be substituted a-heat resistant screen or a strip, or even an integral portion 2! of the plate itself which will extend across the aperture as shown in Fig- 'ure 2. Whatever the shape, the member extending across the aperture I5 serves not only to carry a salt which will render any flame more visible, but also varies the shape of the flame depending upon the amount of unburned gases issuing from the aperture l5. Consequently, with a little practice, a, man adjusting gas appliances in the field may provide various gradations of adjustment by observing the appearance of any flame above the plate, that is, the he'ighth of the flame and whether the flame is coalesced, bifurcated, or otherwise formed.

. In employing my testing device, the plate [3 is placed on the grid 9 centrally above the lighted burner 3 in a position similar to that of a vessel used for cooking. If too much gas is being supplied to the burner 3, combustion will not be completed beneath the testing plate, and the partially burned gases will issue through the central aperture [5 at an ignition temperature, and burn to completion above the plate l3 where excess air is available. The existence of a flame above the test plate signifies that the gas ratio of the burner is excessive and it is necessary, therefore, to adjust the burnerin some appropriate manner. After the service. man has adjusted the burner to the point where the flame above the test plate just disappears, a correct adjustment is thereby indicated forgas of that B. t. u. content.

In most instances the gas'applianceswill be ad-- justed to accommodate a so-called richer fuel, that is, a fuel having a greater heat content per unit of volume than the fuel previously used. However, where the fuel being substituted is of a lower B. t. u. rating, it will be desirable for the person testing the appliance first to increase the gas ratio to the point where a flame appears above the test plate, and then to reduce the gas ratio of the burner until the flame above the test plate just disappears.

In Figure 3 I have illustrated a modified form of testing plate H3 which more readily lends aperture may also be employed, but the illustrated apertures I I5 are adapted to give a satisfactory test of the state'of combustion beneath the plate H3. Coated-wires onscreen may be placed over the apertures I I5 in the same manner as suggested above with respectto the test- M ing plate l3 of Figure 1.

Modifications of the plate H3 of Figure 3' are shown in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4* illustrates a testing plate 213 having a metal disc 2M and a concentric wire rim 22l connected with the edge of the disc by a plurality of radially extending wires 223. In this way apertures 215 are defined near the edge of the testing plate 2l3. An annular strip of screen 225 may be secured by its inner edge to the disc 2 l4 and by itsouter edge to the rim 22L Itwill be appreciated, however,

7. that the wires 223 alone can serve to indicate the presence of burning gases above the surface of the plate 213, but the screen makes more visible such flame, particularly if the screen is coated with a salt solution which will color the flame when vaporized. Any flame appearing at the apertures H5 and above the plate indicates the escape from beneath the plate 2l3 of unburned gas, which gas upon reaching excess air above the plate burns to completion.

In Figure 5 the testing plate 3l3 has apertures 3 I 5 formed by a stamping operation which leaves an integral rim 32l joined to the control disc 3M by radially extending arms 323. The arms may be coated with a salt solution which vapor ices in a flame, thus giving color to the flame. As an additional means for identifying the presence of a flame above the apertures 3l5, a coated screen 325 may be placed across the apertures.

The plate is employed in the same manner as 4 the testing plates of Figures 3 and 4.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that gas burners which are employed to heat vessels of other sizes will be most appropriately tested by devices having substantially the same shape and surface area as the surface presented by the vessel to the flame, and I do not intend, therefore, to be limited to the illustrated'embodiment of my invention, except, insofar as the following claimis so limited.

I claim:

A device for testing the extent of combustion beneath a vessel of a fuel gas delivered by a top burner of a gas range, saiddevice comprising a flat, metal plate having a shape, surface area and thickness corresponding to that surface of a standard cooking vessel which is subjected to itself to the testing of a top burner I03 which is tially above the gas flame at the outer perimeter of the burner I03. If desired, a small central the burning fuel, and having an aperture in said plate providing a passageway for any unburned fuel to reach excess air above the plate for combustion, and a heat resistant wire extending across said aperture, said wire being coated with a salt solution whereby vaporized salt will render more visible the existence of a flame at the aperture.

RAYMOND J. DUFOUR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 9, 1901 OTHER REFERENCES Number 

